A public / private thinking space.
Who do I write these for, anyway? More often than not it's fair to say that they're actually written for myself. That doesn't mean that they're some sort of exercise in narcissism, but instead that quite often they serve as a sort of training ground, a practice field for ideas that hopefully will blossom into materials that I use in articles and lectures. Perhaps I should relate to them as sort of a private shower made public. Often, late at night, I rush out of the shower in true Archimedian eureka fashion, grabbing for the nearest pencil and paper in order to jot down a few thoughts that took shape and started to make sense while I was showering (and after I've turned off the computer). I don't know if it's the water or the soap that catalyzes my thinking, but some of my best thoughts come to me while showering.
In a similar vein, these columns are a combination of the shower stall where I think to myself, and the pad of paper on which I send my thoughts up the flagpole (if it's a personal association, chances are good I've used it before). Although I may be writing for myself, it's not enough to just take a shower. Even if nobody is out there who's about to salute, the semi-public nature of posting those thoughts is a means via which I make them tangible enough for me to test whether or not they can hold water.
Jump to my next thoughts in this ongoing internal debate, or
Return to my previous thoughts on the subject.
Go to: A rather limited definition of "anything",
or
Go to: Something for Nothing.